Now You See It - But...

There are a lot of moving parts to a live sports television broadcast; under the hood, you have camera operators, utilities (cable wranglers), statisticians, graphics operators, graphics coordinators, a technical manager, a technical director, a score box operator, replay operators, engineers, and on and on and on. To the viewers, all of the effort of these folks put forth live on the air in a frantic television truck somehow funnels out through a couple of announcers and the visuals that are presented.

What is often overlooked, but one of the most vital components of any sports broadcast - is the audio. You might not realize it as you see it...but how you hear it can make a dull broadcast an Emmy winner. When that linebacker collides head on with the league's top running back, you can see the hit in live, HD color right there in your living room. But with a talented audio engineer on the mix, you'll not only see it...you'll feel the impact!

Home theater continues to improve; in this day of affordable digital surround, viewers expect bigger audio. Notice I didn't say "louder" audio. Just bigger. Bigger as in mic placements in new places (like that linebacker's shoulderpads). Bigger as in stereo surround, dropping the viewer directly into the middle of the basketball court (not just the shoe squeaks, but the pushing and jostling & 'pass me the ball' comments). Bigger as in a solid thud you can hear and feel in your gut as that heavyweight fighter lands a haymaker to the jaw.

Next time you're watching the big game, think about all the audio elements happening live, on the fly. Think about how many mics it took to get that sound, how somebody had to dream up those mic placements and wire up the stadium, and how a person stands over the massive digital audio console, pulling faders up and down to make sure the right channels are open at the right moments to deliver that audio to you - always fresh and piping hot! It's truly an overlooked art that puts the viewer on the field, in the huddle, in a way that no camera can do alone.

A Sigh of Relief

The great NFL labor dispute is no mas. In a much-publicized, sometimes contentious debate over profits, free agency, schedule structure, and many other vital points, both ownership and the NFL players union came to terms in time to salvage the entire 2011 season. Well, unless you want to get technical and count the Hall of Fame preseason game which was scrubbed.

Had the entire season been lost, as had been feared, surely there would have been much hoopla about the numbers: tallying up the massive losses - league revenue, lost merchandise sales, player salaries, individual team profits, etc. However, it's quite likely that you would not have read much about a very significant group of professionals that would have been permanently impacted by a lost NFL season: the talented men and women who work hard to televise each game, bringing all of the hits, bombs, and blitzes into your living room or sports pub.

Those of us who work to televise live sports events are primarily paid by the game, on a freelance basis. It's a "no workee/no eatee" business...and most of us like to eatee.

Had the entire season been lost, some of the more fortunate television pros would have picked up other work on other sports events. The greater portion of us might have struggled to pick up part time work or drained our savings accounts, with those funds being lost forever.

So on behalf of all of my fellow sports TV pros, thanks to the players, league, and owners for working out a compromise and saving the 2011 NFL season. And thank you, the fans, for supporting your favorite teams and watching our hard work each week.

A Waste of Good Air Time

Ever find yourself watching the final round of a golf tournament, and see clubhouse interviews of the tourney leaders, prior to their title round starting? I see a pattern here, and it usually goes something like this:

Announcer: "What are you going to try to do out there today?"

Golfer: "Well, you know, I'm going to try to go out there and 'shoot a low score' and see what happens."

Announcer: "Well, good luck today. Folks, there you have it - he's going to try to shoot low!"

Not exactly riveting commentary, is it? I mean, doesn't every golfer want to shoot low? Isn't that the point of the game? Wouldn't it be more entertaining (and insightful) to hear a golfer share something with the viewers that we don't already know? Here's how that same interview might sound, if the viewers were to be treated to some actual inside secret:

Announcer: "What are you going to try to do out there today?"

Golfer: "Well, I've got to disrupt his game anyway I can. So for breakfast I ate a plate of Brussels sprouts and broccoli, along with a giant bowl of baked beans. If he isn't thrown off by the smell of methane, I do a mean impression of Rodney Dangerfield. Maybe I can bust a few lines from Caddyshack on him during his back swing. "Last time I saw a mouth like that it had a hook in it!" If all else fails, I'm gonna try to get the gallery involved in singing the Coke song, "I'd like to teach the world to sing..." as we make the turn. He might beat me, but one way or another it's gonna be the longest round of his life!"

Now THAT would be entertaining.